Fluffymailaholic

I have a confession to make: my name is Erin and I’m a fluffymailaholic.

At first, cloth diapering was an exercise in saving money, and containing blowouts. But now… I’m also totally in it for the cute diapers. It’s true. Better for the budget, better for the environment… sure, ok, whatevs. But they’re stinkin’ cute, people.

I started cloth diapering six months ago with a stash of BumGenius one-size and all-in-one diapers for my daughter Anneliese (now 9 months old), and liked it so much that soon after, I started using cloth on my son Nathan (now almost 3 and potty-trained). Little did I know that in six short months it would become so… fun.

I might even admit (… I’m scared to put this on the internet but here goes…) that I secretly might maybe actually kind of enjoy changing diapers now. I get some kind of weird rush from choosing a diaper from the stash, feeling how soft it is, and putting the wet one in a bag (where I get to use it again and again and again… yes, being frugal is definitely part of the rush). Dorky but true.

So in recent months, I have spent a lot of time and energy in the cloth diapering online community (yes, there is one, and it’s surprisingly huge) hunting down new colors and patterns and kinds of diapers I want to try. I have been buying and trading online like it’s going out of style. I have been stalking websites and facebook fan pages and chatting with other moms online who want to buy/sell/trade like I do. It’s like some kind of weird non-hobby. And by non-hobby I mean addiction. But a fun one!

Every time I have new diapers on the way, I get a little antsy watching for the mailman. I’m pretty sure he knows we’re stalking him. When he pulls into our street, we all pile out of the house (mommy, puppies, babies) and gather ’round the end of the driveway to see if he has anything fun (fluffy mail!) for us. I’m letting him believe that the stalking is completely about Nathan’s obsession with his mail truck, even though that’s only about 50% true. Really I am just crazy excited (way more excited than is normal or appropriate, I’ll admit it) that he might have a package for me with some super soft fabric in pretty colors or patterns for my kids to poop on. I feel very sure I should not admit to our mailman what’s really going on every day at our mailbox — that I’m a fluffymailaholic, and he’s an enabler.

So what kinds of diaper bliss has my fluffy mail addiction brought into our lives beyond our original BumGenius stash? Well I’m glad you asked. (Because I am an addict and I have diaper mentionitis and I really really want to tell you.)A friend recommended trying Rumparooz, so I did. My original motivation was just to get a lavendar diaper, since at that point, BumGenius didn’t come in purple. Anyway I love love love love the Rumparooz — and now I have not only the lavendar one, but also a brown one, and a bright yellow one. And two minky ones I bought secondhand. (I might or might not have put Anneliese in one of them, laid her on a picnic blanket at Daddy’s softball game last week, and then gotten slightly drunk of all the compliments. Like any good addict would.

Also I got a got a couple of secondhand Goodmamas. I can see these diapers being dangerous for me. Since their designer and creator, Suzanne, only makes a certain amount in any one fabric, I find myself saying “oooh, I want that one! And that one! And that one too!” And I just need to stop it very very soon like right now. I love how squishy the Goodmamas are, and all the fun colors and designs, and how luxurious they feel (my bum is jealous of Anneliese’s). I have to limit these, though, because Daddy isn’t a fan of snaps. (I admit it’s not my favorite either, but come on. It’s not that complicated. If you can snap baby PJs, you can snap a diaper. I promise.)

I was in a good groove with cloth diapering and I had added things to our cloth diapering supply, like cloth wipes, swim diapers, and Rockin’ Green detergent (we battled some stinkies when Anneliese first started solids, but they’re gone now!)… but I still wanted to add just a couple more diapers to our stash so that I could comfortably go one more day between washings. So I kept shopping.

I got very very excited about the idea of a turquoise diaper when a friend came for a pool playdate and her baby was wearing the prettiest cloth swim diaper I have seen in a long time, in a sweet and bright turquoise. (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s cutie diapers? What’s that now? Huh?) I just couldn’t get that color out of my head. I explored lots of options, did lots of hunting, and eventually decided on ordering a Tots Bots EasyFit from Kelly’s Closet — it’s relatively new to the market and I had been wanting to try it anyway. It’s similar to the other pocket diapers in our stash, but on this one, the insert stays attached to the diaper (it agitates out on its own in the wash). And it has bamboo in the absorbent layers, which makes it really soft, and a little trimmer than our other pockets. And, more importantly, it comes in a gorgeous shade of turquoise. It arrived last Saturday (after several days of mailman-stalking) and so far I can say yes, it’s everything I hoped and dreamed it would be. {happysigh}

And of course I got very excited last week when CottonBabies announced they were upgrading our beloved BumGenius 3.0 to a 4.0. I just saw that pretty light green sage and that pretty lavender and then I got this funny bubbly feeling in my tummy that kept welling up and welling up until I hit the preorder! button. Yes, I ordered them before they’re even technically available… addicted what? (Hey, one man’s iphone is another’s awesome cloth diaper. Don’t judge.)

I do take some comfort knowing that I am not the only mom going through this addiction. I do still recognize that the whole point really is to save money, despite what the dangerous half of my brain tells the logical part of my brain about how Anneliese needs to have the cutest fluffiest bum in town.

And I am officially one of Those Moms who I mocked just a few short months ago. You can now mock me now; I know I deserve it. But I can totally take it, and it’s totally worth it. Long live the bum fluff rainbow!

i totally love this story. i have not started CDing yet but we will be starting in 2 weeks. i have already checked out every kind of diaper and option available. so im sure i will be able to relate to this story soon.

Ok…My favorite quote:"Really I am just crazy excited (way more excited than is normal or appropriate, I'll admit it) that he might have a package for me with some super soft fabric in pretty colors or patterns for my kids to poop on."

Anyone who doesnt relate to this… I wasn't able to buy diapers at all for about 6 months because I lost my job and then we got a little cash for our infant girl and I went STRAIGHT to KC and ordered a flip and a G to try them out and I internet stalked my tracking code. I almost pounced on the mailaldy when she got up my driveway 🙂

My sister informed me not too long ago that I had a diaper addiction and I think she is right! haha! I am just hoping for a new one in the next couple years so I can buy more diapers! I'm going to get newborn ones this time around so hey fit from birth!

I can relate as well!! I don't check the mail on Fridays. For some reason it seems like you get 'bad' mail on Fridays. I have a history of getting letters from insurance companies, mortgage companies, etc on Fridays in which there is a mistake that needs to be fixed. Well, by the time I call on Friday the customer service line is already closed and so I have to stew over the problem during the weekend. HOWEVER, if I'm expecting fluff mail on Friday, I only look for the package and leave the rest of the mail in the box. 🙂 I think part of the excitement is waiting to see which freebie diaper I get from Kellys Closet. 🙂

I could have written this post! I'm the same way- we don't need anymore diapers but every week more show up in our mailbox. I just sell DF that I sell off diapers and buy new ones to replace them. I just hide the evidence in the closet, because I can't just sell a diaper that easily haha

Love it!! I am the exact same way only my stash isn't nearly as varied as yours. I am coveting your stash now!! 🙂 I am waiting for 2 new diapers now…a surprise AIO and a WAHM diaper from cutiepoops.com! Can't wait for them to get here and yes, I stalk the mailman too!! 🙂 Funny how something like a diaper which as you said is for your baby to poop in, can be so exciting and addicting. I started cloth diapering about 3-4 months ago and I am absolutely addicted and spend lots of time researching and FBing all the cloth diaper sites! So glad I decided to cloth diaper! Thanks for your humorous post, love it!!

Laura — it's a rumparooz G1 that I bought off diaperswappers from a mom who thought she was having a boy and ended up with a girl. I have no idea if they even make them anymore! just do a hunt for rumparooz minky and maybe you'll find one? I love it! So fun. 🙂

Love this! I hear ya on the addiction. I recently made a spreadsheet to track all the diapers and accessories we have and how much they cost (oh what, did I just admit this on the internet?) and I was shocked to see that with all the freebies and sales on KC we've still spent less than %500 total. That include accessories, gifts, detergent. Even if I go hog wild and continue trying new diapers over the next year I will be nowhere near the thousands of dollars most people spend on sposies in their child's diaper years. I might be the only one alive who feels some sadness when thinking about potty training and having to pack up the diapers…

Too funny. I totally relate to the excitement for Fluffymail. I'm constantly checking the tracking of my orders from Kelly's Closet to see where my Fluffymail is & how soon it will arrive. I still have a small stash of 12 diapers in use now: 3 Fuzzibunz OS, 2 Knickernappies OS, 4 GroBaby OS Shells with 8 inserts, 4 Twinkletoes (WAHM) OS AIO/AI2, 1 medium Jamtots Berry Plush. Got 2 Knickernappies OS, a FuzziBunz OS & some inserts on the way – can hardly wait!